My Kingdom Awaits
by Jncera
Summary: He had hoped Lian would have changed her mind; changed her heart, but she was an ice-chest he could not open or melt, and she stayed aloof for two years. Roy/Cheshire. One-shot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

A/N: Inspired by three songs: _Undone_ by FFH, _Ass Back Home_ by Gym Class Heroes, and _Coming Home_ by Diddy.

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><p><strong><em>My Kingdom Awaits<em>  
><strong>_For Chheshire on Tumblr – Thank you for that Christmas fic, and Happy New Year!_

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><p>"What do you want to name her?"<p>

Jade peered down at the tiny pink body swaddled in blankets and curled into her chest. She supposed the correct emotion should be awe—that she somehow created had life instead of strangling it away.

"I've always liked the name 'Lian'."

It meant "lotus flower" and originated in the land of dragons and silks, and to her, it was more than just a pretty name with an exotic source. Lotus flowers were the symbol of purity—a blossom rising from the depths of murky waters to become the revered seat of deities.

To Jade, this child was the lotus flower that had somehow pushed through her mother's suffocating muddy waters where she thought nothing could thrive.

"So you'll stay with us?"

Jade lifted her eyes and caught Roy's sapphire orbs looking earnestly at her for an answer. She wanted to tell him how unattractive he looked with shadows under his eyes and a meadow of stubble across his chin and sides of his face, and how he probably needed to scrub, rinse, and repeat at least five times.

But for once in her life, she didn't care about any of those aspects—and it terrified her.

"I-I can't."

No spoonful of sugar could make this sweet. She hated to see the broken light in his eyes, but she would rather he swam in a pool of sorrow than blood. She turned back down to gaze at the tiny figure in her arms, and wished she could sleep in such heavenly peace as well.

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><p>He left the key under the mat to their front door for her, but with each passing day, its outline pressed deeper into the rubber underlining of the mat, as well as into the heavy beats of his heart. He had hoped Lian would have changed her mind; changed her heart, but she was an ice-chest he could not open or melt, and she stayed aloof for two years.<p>

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><p>"Jade, please come home."<p>

"You know I can't, Roy…"

"That's not true. We both know you can leave any time you want."

Jade sighed, and moved the phone to her other ear.

"I miss you." Roy coughed and cleared his throat. "Lian…misses you."

She slowly sank into her hotel bed and gazed without seeing at the fluttering sheets of silver rain outside her window.

"You know I want to," she whispered, "but you also know how dangerous that is."

"It's been almost two years," Roy pleaded, ignoring her previous statement. "And plus, no one deserves to be alone during the holidays." He then emitted a small breath of laughter and added, "Even bad cats like yourself."

Jade grinned. "Oh but you _like_ this bad kitty."

"I have your favorite cat-nip," he continued to tease.

"Does it come with a back-massage?"

Roy made a noise of feigned indecisiveness. "Why don't you find out?"

"You _tease_."

He laughed, and Jade could suddenly picture him—those blue eyes dancing, those pearly whites flashing—and memories of tickle-fights between the sheets and strong arms wrapped around her torso swirled around her like the rainstorm outside.

"Why?" she asked suddenly.

"Why what?"

"Why keep hanging on, when all the things I've done have left you…alone?"

A microwave beeped in the background and she heard Roy open and close its door. He remained silent, and suddenly the soft crooning of a child drifted through the phone. The sound could have brought her collapsing to her knees if she hadn't already been sitting.

"_Lian_…" she breathed, feeling the foreign sensations of pinpricks behind her eyes and in her heart.

"Come home," said Roy once more, "and I'll show you your answer."

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><p>The security guard at the Arrivals terminal claimed he had the best job in the world. He started his employment at Departures, but found the doleful farewells too depressing to witness on a daily basis. However, here at the opposite end, there was nothing but insatiable liveliness sparked by the sudden glimpse of a hat, a wave, or a smile—especially during the wintery holiday season.<p>

The man and his dusky-haired daughter instantly caught his attention. He was tall, and built for strength and agility that was hard to conceal even under his wool-coat. The child was a bubbly ball of chortles, and would not stop squirming ecstatically in her father's arms. She looked no more than a few years old, but to the security guard, it seemed she knew exactly who her father was waiting for.

The red-haired man suddenly stiffened, and the security guard turned to see whom he had locked his eyes on.

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><p>Roy hated clichés, but he was beginning to think this moment in his life was torn from a movie-script, and there was an invisible director and camera crew hidden in the throngs of winter coats and rolling luggage wheels.<p>

Jade approached them in a slow-motion staccato of boots and an invisible wind through her raven hair. Physically, she hadn't changed, but… Roy could see something different in her face. She held his gaze for a split-second and a tingle of recognition shot into his chest, but her eyes quickly shifted to the now quiet girl in his arms.

And even though she had no memory of this woman being her mother, Lian smiled and reached a soft hand to playfully pat Jade's cheek as Roy embraced her.

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><p>The security guard grinned to himself. It was clear from the woman's hesitant movements her relationship with the toddler was somewhat foreign, but as she plucked the girl from her father's arm with fragile care, there was no doubt in the brief glitter that passed through her eyes that this was her baby.<p>

His heart continued to swell as he watched the father pull the woman closer, and lay a delicate kiss on her forehead.

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><p>Roy walked out of the bathroom and tossed his towel aside onto a chair. He tugged at the waist-band of his flannel pajama pants to adjust them, and his eyes fell upon a hushed sight he thought could only exist in his heart's imagination.<p>

Lian was sleeping in the middle of his bed and curled next to her—with her dark hair pooled across the pillow and mingling with the little girl's—was Jade. Even in the wavering golden glow of the solitary bed-side lamp, Roy could see the physical resemblance between the two. Lian's high cheek-bones, her apple-colored lips, her long eye-lashes that framed those now dreaming eyes—those features were all Jade's. Besides Lian's striking blue eyes and—although he almost hated to admit it—steadfast tenacity, everything about that child was almost a direct copy of her beautiful mother.

He slipped quietly into the bed but propped himself on his elbows, his eyes refusing to sail away from this scene and into the land of sleep. He watched as Jade's eyelashes suddenly fluttered, and she was suddenly gazing back with a tiny sheepish grin.

Roy turned and reached over to lightly trace her jaw-line, before raising her chin and kissing her.

"Welcome home," he whispered as he pulled away.

And suddenly they both knew that this time… Jade was going to stay.

_I'm coming home  
>I'm coming home<br>Tell the World I'm coming home  
>Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday<br>I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes  
>I'm coming home, I'm coming home<br>Tell the World I'm coming…  
><strong>Home.<strong>_


End file.
